'Former Reds' Behind Red Mud

  •  budapest
  • Inter Press Service

As the Hungarian government continues its efforts to limit the consequences of a tragic toxic leak last week, it has also used the opportunity to attack a supposed former communist-turned capitalist oligarchy that allegedly runs the country's economy. Last Monday one of the walls of a reservoir at the MAL aluminum factory in Ajka cracked, releasing over a million cubic metres of alkaline mud on nearby Kolontár and Devecser, two small localities located 160km west of Budapest.

So far nine people have died as a result of drowning or prolonged exposure to the toxic substances contained in the mud. The last victim died Wednesday this week in a Budapest hospital shortly after his daughter's body was found in the fields surrounding Kolontár. A task force has just completed the construction of a new barrier that will stop a second flood in the likely event that a wall in the original reservoir collapses. Experts are currently running tests on the new 1,500 metres long and 30 metres wide structure in a race against time.

The first leak released only 20 percent of the mud in the container; the remaining 80 percent is however less watery and is easier to control. However, new risks are posed by the drying mud in the surrounding area, as it has turned into a toxic dust which could be inhaled by locals. Authorities have already evacuated all of the 800 inhabitants in Kolontár, but in nearby Devecser, home to 5000 people, children are beginning to return to school wearing breathing masks.

Hungary's political elite has been visibly involved in the investigation to the incident, with conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orbán himself announcing the arrest and interrogation of the factory's chief executive Zoltán Bakonyi. 'Announcing arrests is the task of a spokesman of the police, this is pure populist politics, but it is coherent with the expectations of voters,' Attila Gyulai, analyst at the Budapest-based Political Capital think tank told IPS.

© Inter Press Service (2010) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service